This SHT cost me big time

[Titanium48]

Re: This SHT cost me big time

I've got to premix and I'm paranoid of forgetting to the point that I don't let anyone talk to me at the fuel pump. I stay focused on not overfilling the tank with fuel to leave room for oil, Stabil Marine, and expansion. After that it's oil immediately! I don't wait to go home, I don't pay, I don't get the kiddos a drink...just oil, oil, oil, oil, oil in my head until it's in there.

And I agree with the OP....it's amazing how something that's bathed in oil can seize....

Why not put the oil in first so you don't have to worry about leaving room for it? Worst things that can happen then (other than forgetting about the oil altogether) are getting a somewhat rich oil mixture because the tank was more full than you thought, or a slightly lean mix if you get distracted and fill the tank completely instead of stopping at the correct volume. Either way, running your boat for a little while to make room for the deficient fluid is unlikely to hurt anything. Just avoid WOT if it needs a bit more oil, or avoid excessive idling if it needs more gas.

 

[DJ]

Re: This SHT cost me big time

It takes a man to share stories like these. Hopefully you get it back going again soon and maybe someone can learn from this.

Agreed.

Way back when, those alarms were called "Idiot Lights" and they went off well after the damage was done.

 

[sw33ttooth]

Re: This SHT cost me big time

Why not put the oil in first so you don't have to worry about leaving room for it? Worst things that can happen then (other than forgetting about the oil altogether) are getting a somewhat rich oil mixture because the tank was more full than you thought, or a slightly lean mix if you get distracted and fill the tank completely instead of stopping at the correct volume. Either way, running your boat for a little while to make room for the deficient fluid is unlikely to hurt anything. Just avoid WOT if it needs a bit more oil, or avoid excessive idling if it needs more gas.

worts thing that can happen is foul out your only set of plugs and your stranded, or not enough oil and she burns up.

if you've ever read a 2-stroke manual it says 50:1 or 40:1 for mostly wot. personally i go with 40:1 i also change my plugs once a year even though they look good.

 

[Nandy]

Re: This SHT cost me big time

I can talk about your specific set up but everything I have that is 2 stroke I mix the oil in the gas myself. I know a few more people that had the same thing happen to you. Good luck, hope you get in the water soon.

 

[rivermouse]

Re: This SHT cost me big time

I go directly to the gas station and fill the gas tank. Right then before I get back in my truck I add the correct amount of oil. It works every time for me

 

[Titanium48]

Re: This SHT cost me big time

worts thing that can happen is foul out your only set of plugs and your stranded, or not enough oil and she burns up.

if you've ever read a 2-stroke manual it says 50:1 or 40:1 for mostly wot. personally i go with 40:1 i also change my plugs once a year even though they look good.

Ok, lets say you have a 70 L tank and are trying to mix 50:1. You think it's 1/4 full so you want to add 50 L of gasoline. It turns out the tank was half full and the pump cuts off after 35 L. If you already put 1 L of oil in, there is now a total of 1.7 L of oil and 68.3 L of gasoline and your ratio is 40:1. That's not going to foul plugs unless you try to troll for hours. If you take a short high speed run and burn off 12 L of fuel you can fill the tank back up and have the desired 50:1 ratio. If you didn't put oil in yet, now your mixture is 100:1 and your tank is full. You need to make room for 700 mL of oil and you are risking damage if you run the motor above idle.
Alternatively, maybe the tank was almost empty. You add your oil and then get distracted while 65 L of gasoline get pumped into your tank. Now your ratio is 65:1. You could run your motor at half throttle or less all day on that without damage, and it won't take long for there to be room for the extra 150 mL of oil you need. If you didn't add oil yet, there is no oil in your tank and you're going to need to pump or syphon out some gas to make room for oil before you go anywhere. Either way, you're better off to put the oil in first.

Then there is the issue of actually mixing the oil with the gasoline. If you slowly pour oil into a full tank, much of it might just settle to the bottom until you burn off enough fuel to allow the contents of the tank to slosh around a bit. If you add the oil first, there is more opportunity for mixing while you are filling the tank.

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: This SHT cost me big time

Well, sometimes good can come from from something bad. Like I said I was saving for a likely repower for next year or the year after, depending quite frankly on when the motor finally kicked the bucket. After seeing a ton of potential repowers, I finally found a 200HP Yamaha HPDI with low hours, computer readout, great compression, at a very very good price. All filters will be replaced as part of the purchase. In the end it is all going to be less than what already had saved up thus far, so it's a win of sorts. You can bet ur *** I'll never be low on oil again!